Hello again. Today I felt like we were being watched.

It started shortly after we had crawled out of the little shelter I had molded with tinglewood. We were just finishing breakfast when I felt a shiver run down my spine.

I shot to my feet and a wave of fire exploded behind me. Nothing was there.

Julius and Lena both gave me an odd look before they also shot up and sent a similar blast behind them. I guess they wanted to try it out and see if it was fun. They seemed disappointed it was not.

Since then I would occasionally feel eyes on me. When we climbed the hill behind the now battle scarred flood plains they got much worse. When we stepped beneath the trees I felt an almost crippling dread. I was sweating and panting. Something was wrong and we were in danger. I was sure of it.

Despite my certainty, nothing happened. We walked through forested hills. Deeper and deeper into the greenery. Leafy branchs of oaks and maples swayed overhead. Blocking out the sun, and shading the day. Small rivers spiderwebbed through the hills. Meeting and splitting frenetically before they converged into the streams that touched the ocean.

I sweated and started from every moving branch and snapped twig. Fire snapped at darting figures only to find squirrels and birds. My eyes scanned the woods frantically. Desperate to identify the cause of my distress. The deeper into the woods we walked the larger my disquiet loomed.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Julius and Lena had picked up on my discomfort and stayed close. I had tucked most of their tinglewood in my satchel. Intending to enjoy the simple exercise of walking. What was left was a gaudy little crown tucked between Julius' ears. A dirk at Lenas hip and a pearled diadem on her brow, and a long and sturdy walking staff in my sweaty grip.

Julius may have stayed close to me but he was very interested in sampling every bush, grass, and berry. He found a few he particularily liked so I kept an eye out for them and gathered them for his future meals.

Lena for her part was fascinated by the trees and the critters in them. Forests where she came from were jealously guarded resources. No one was allowed near them and trespassers faced severe reprisals. The poor squirrels I hadn't roasted got chased into chittering red and gray blurs by the watery counterparts Lena made. She seemed more interested in the chase than the catch.

She was also deeply interested in the frogs and turtles that swam in the streams. Scooping up particularily interesting specimens and bringing them over to show me. She must have found a hundred different kinds of frogs and a dozen kinds of turtles. She became covered in mud and slime. Nothing she couldn't wash off with her tingles though. 

Now I had begun to consider simply flying away, or at the very least pulling out all the tinglewood we had to craft a mobile fortress. What stopped me was a firey wave of stubbornness. I would not yield my path to some hidden horror. Some skulking spectre. I will do what I want and anyone or anything that tries to stop me will burn for it.

All my fear and determination were proved fruitless and exhausting emotional labors. The sun has set. Dinner has been eaten, and the little ones are snoozing away from the long walk.

Maybe I was simply being overly imaginative and sensitive?

Goodnight.